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There
has been some press of late about the brilliant fishery that exists
at Cania Dam in central Qld. Superb fishing opportunities combined
with the scenic beauty of sheer granite cliffs that surround this
lake makes this one of the most popular fishing destinations for
the budding freshwater angler. Fitzy..
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Boasted
to now be the best freshwater flyfishing impoundment in the state,
due mainly to the large population of saratoga, bass, golden perch
and silver perch only to eager to take a variety of lures or flies,
the same fishery is now under threat. The owners of the dam, Department
of Natural Resources (DNR) have decided to go ahead with the planned
late winter release of 7500 megalitres of water to replenish the
aquifers further down along Three Moon Creek. This will have the
effect of taking the lakes water level from 15% down to just 7%.
Without any replenishing rains, there is no guarantee that DNR
will not release the remaining water for local irrigators during
the long summer months ahead. The dead storage level for this
impoundment is 1% meaning that DNR will lower the water down to
this level when the local farmers cry out for more. Now we need
to realize that it has taken some 15 years to get Cania, and many
similar Qld dams, to the fishing level that they are now in. 
The
local fish stocking group can very well see many years of hard
work and sweat going down the drain, pardon the pun. If Cania
is emptied then it may well take another 15 years to get it back
to the fishing level it now enjoys. The history of DNR in regard
to Qld's fish stocking groups and their concerns has been poor
to say the least and this latest bungle on their behalf is just
another chapter in what seems to turning into an epic novel. It
was suggested by one DNR representative that if fish stocking
groups and anglers continue to object to the emptying of impoundments,
they may well take steps to stop any further stocking of impoundment
under their control. Comments like this may be reminiscent of
days gone by in some countries with the orator having the back
up of armed thugs and bully boys, but they are hardly the sort
of thing one would expect from a representative of a democratically
elected government in Australia. These impoundments were funded
by, and are owned by the tax payers of Qld and they have a right
to gain access to these waters for recreational use, fish stocking
and fishing included. It seems that after copping a bloodied nose
over similar issues in the past, Qld's DNR are preparing to draw
a line in the sand and make a stand against anglers. If a battle
is what they want, then I would advise the DNR to dig very deep
trenches instead of lines in the sand as I recon they could be
a fair chance of getting one. Someone once coined the term "Roll
the dice and take your chances" and I would say this is a fair
term to relay to the bean counters with a bad attitude to angling
in Queensland.